Zenlarge Show

I've had some difficulties loading up this podcast so please bear with me, the recording of this podcast also had some irregular difficulties. Someday I'll eventually figure this all out.... someday.

In this episode KMO of the C-Realm Podcast stops by to talk about his recent book (Conversations On Collapse), his Podcast, and the Eco-Village. We also explore many other topics including talking about KMO's tales of the road as he has been couch-surfing while promoting his recent book. The conversation also veers into talking about technology and Kevin Kelley's recent book 'What Technology Wants'.

In my first ever interview with Gonzalo Lira we cover a multitude of topics, many of the topics are applicable to the current events that our world now faces and a few other topics are thrown in for good measure and a whole lot of fun. But ultimately, the conversation was informational and important.

The reason we came together to talk was the events surrounding the Irish Banking Crisis that is unfolding in real time. The domino's are slowly starting to fall across the Euro-Zone area and the solutions. GL makes many predictions as well as a defined commentary on the events that led up to the crisis.

Probably the 'gem of the show' was GL's take on the movement of money into commodities and the reasons why. During the editing process I picked up on a few comments he made that I hadn't fully comprehended.

Steve Crower returns to give his latest insight on Peak Oil, or rather the introduction of the term 'Plateau Oil'. The Plateau Oil term refers to the introduction of both new technologies that increase the existing oil fields (marginally improving the yield) and new technologies that bring shale oil to the market. The effect will be a plateau-ing of oil production or, to put it differently, oil supply. The demand part of this equation remains a question mark but we spend most of our time in this interview discussing the supply side.

Josh Kosman returns to once again talk about the Private Equity industry, an industry many of us have little knowledge of and an industry that greatly impacts all of us.

The facts are that the number two private employer in this country is a Private Equity firm, KKR, and among the top ten private employers in this country five of those companies are PE companies. There is no question that PE firms have a direct impact on our economy and thus should be on the radar screens for anyone following the economy.

I asked Josh Kosman to come back on the show to give us an update on PE since we last spoke and to my surprise they are making a dramatic comeback. The reason is simple, with the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates far below the natural rate of interest the investment managers at pensions and mutual funds are looking for some yield to meet the hurdle rate (minimum acceptable rate of return) that is mandated by the fund.

In effect, the Fed is pushing money right into the hands of the very PE firms that saddle good American companies with debt while gutting the infrastructure at the same time. It is a deal that leaves the companies unable to compete internationally and makes the US less competitive as a result. Hopefully Josh can give us some good news that things are changing...

Buy the book "The Buyout of America" by Josh Kosman

Dave Pollard, author of the How To Save The World blog, joins me in an episode dedicated to our Culture of Dependency and how our civilization has evolved into a highly complex system that lacks the resilience to handle the multiple crises that we now face.

This episode examines the structure of our complex society and how it has been a product of an era of abundant cheap energy (ie. petroleum oil). We also discuss overshoot and what that means to future societies. Along those same lines we talk about a transition to steady-state economics (while hashing out the probability of it ever being implemented).

A truly enjoyable guest and a great episode. Thank you all for listening. Towards the end of this podcast we talk about how the listening and reading community is as much a part of the New Revolution as the speakers and writers.

-Ol' Two Beers

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Books mentioned:

Dave Pollards Book Finding the Sweet Spot

The Upside of Down by Thomas Homer-Dixon

I talk with Nelson Lebo about essential tools of a post-petroluem world... or for whatever world you live in (a modern world, a world where credit has dried up and food deliveries are erratic, a world where you care about the food you eat and where it comes from, a world where you realize that anything that ends with a -cide means death).

We only get as far as talking about one essential tool but we learn about many of the techniques that Nelson uses to preserve that tool and how to be the most effective with it.

Jack Spirko of the Survival Podcast stops by to educate Ol' Two Beers on Modern Survivalism. We also talk about Jacks background, the beginnings of his podcast, and where the future may very well lead us.

Both Jack and I spend alot of time talking on this podcast about many of the shortcomings of our modern society and how our ability to handle crisis is limited. Jack also details the differences of our grandparents ability to handle the Great Depression differs from our current generation, and how this particular financial bomb will have more of an impact on our society...

But the episode is not all Fear and Loathing in 2010... the episode is actually uplifting and optimistic. Jack speaks as though he's come from the future and he is here to spread the good news... that we all live in the end, and we manage to lean on our brothers in hard times and we get through this.

After a few years of consuming and digesting massive amounts of information pertaining to our current financial/energy crisis I find it rare that I consume a 'game-changer'. So it was exciting to have an MP3 forwarded to me that provided me with that game-changing moment.

Now, when I say game-changer, I'm not talking about What will happen, but rather How it will happen.  The How is focused on the debate about whether deflation or inflation will win the day. Because to get from where we are, (a debt-saturated global economy) to there, (historically normal debt ratios), we have to go down either one of two paths; inflation or deflation. For the most part I really don't care, the outcome of both still means that I need to move up the learning curve on my gardening skills, start building a local community, and continue to keep educating myself on all matters that pertain to self-sufficiency.

Where inflation vs. deflation matters to me is how should I react with my investing strategy. This is why the debate has importance to me and probably you. In this interview Nicole Foss of Automatic Earth makes a compelling case for deflation, probably the best I've heard as of yet.

The title of this episode comes from the fact that Nicole is criss-crossing the globe in an effort to prepare those that are ready to hear her message that something life-altering is coming. Just as Paul Revere rode through Lexington to warn the patriots of sudden attack, Nicole is globe-trotting to warn the patriots of sudden collapse.

Automatic Earth

The table gets turned in this episode and Nathan Martin (A two time guest on 2BwS, woop-woop) asks the questions. We explore topics such as my background, which tends to go on longer than it should have... but who doesn't like talking about themselves, c'mon! We also talk about the show; past guests, thoughts I've pulled away from my guests, what I've learned, yadda-yadda.

The interview eventually breaks down into the typical type of conversations that me and Nathan have had. The conversation seems to follow a narrow stream of consciousness and I think most everyone will appreciate the candidness of both Nathan and I. These are the types of conversations that more people should be having.

I don't think anywhere in the interview are we complaining about what THEY are doing to US. That is an important statement for me to make, because I don't want to view myself as a victim of the system, or some higher power (Royal Order of the Frog? hmmm.).

I hope you enjoy this episode

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Nelson Lebo is an award-winning environmental educator with 20 yearsteaching experience. He has been an organic farmer and green builderfor the decade. He is trained in Organic Land Care, EcologicalDesign/Build, Eco-Renovation and holds a Permaculture DesignCertificate. Nelson has worked as a design consultant and educator inthe USA, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, India, Australia and New Zealand. Heis currently pursuing a PhD in permaculture education at theUniversity of Waikato. Contact: [email protected]: [email protected]

Nelson is looking for sponsors in the New England area and the vicinity to host his four hour workshop on how to garden organically and do it successfully without much energy input. If you are interested in hosting Nelson please contact Nelson or myself.